Fusilli Porcini Puttanesca Fusilli With Porcini Puttanesca Sauce Recipe Fusilli Porcini Puttanesca Fusilli with Porcini Puttanesca Sauce Recipe Fusilli Porcini Puttanesca Fusilli with Porcini Puttanesca Sauce From mystic_river1 8 years ago 60 minutes to make Serves 4 Pasta Puttanesca (Italian Pasta alla Puttanesca) is an Italian pasta dish made with a sauce named sugo alla puttanesca. Puttanesca is an urban and a modern sauce, not dependent upon seasonal ingredients and reflecting the bounty of the market shop rather than the bounty of the garden. Read more The sauce is not part of traditional Italian cuisine: the earliest reference to pasta “alla puttanesca” in print cited by the Grande dizionario della lingua italiana is Raffaele La Capria’s 1961 novel Ferito a morte, 1961, and the professional association of pastamakers, Unione Industriali Pastai Italiani, agrees that the sauce became popular in the 1960s.

The name originated in Naples after the local prostitutes, Pasta alla Puttanesca meaning "Pasta the way a whore would make it". The reason why the dish gained such a name is debated, though the most obvious contrast— with alla casalinga, simple "home-style" tomato sauce which has been "tarted up", as the English would say— is ignored for livelier original legends. One possibility is that the name is a reference to the sauce's hot, spicy flavour and pungent smell. Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a brothel[citation needed]. According to chef Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet, its name came from the fact that it was a quick, cheap meal that prostitutes could prepare between customers. A more thorough story about this dish comes from Diane Seed in her book, Top 100 Pasta Sauces .She says: “ My introduction to this famous pasta dish occurred when I overheard two elderly priests discussing the pros and cons of Spaghetti alla Puttanesca ("Whore's spaghetti") as they deliberated over the menu in a Neapolitan restaurant.

Made of ingredients found in most Italian larders, this is also known as 'Spaghetti alla Buona Donna' - or 'Good Woman's Spaghetti' - which can be misleading if one is not familiar with the ironic insult 'figlio d'una buona donna' - son of a good woman. To understand how this sauce came to get its name, one must consider the 1950s when brothels in Italy were state-owned. They were known as case chiuse or 'closed houses' because the shutters had to be kept permanently closed to avoid offending the sensibilities of neighbors or innocent passers-by. Conscientious Italian housewives usually shop at the local market every day to buy fresh food, but the 'civil servants' were only allowed one day per week for shopping, and their time was valuable. Their specialty became a sauce made quickly from odds and ends in the larder. ” See less tomatoes Feel free to use any of the below tags. Click one to add it.

tomatoes Pasta | TartQueen's Kitchen TartQueen's Kitchen Simple All-Purpose Marinara Sauce 1 Posted on May 12, 2015 by Sahar When I was younger – much younger – I was an avid Nancy Drew Mysteries reader. I think I had 20 or so of the books. My goal at the time was to read through all of them (I think there were 55 at the time). I never made that goal, but I did get one thing so much cooler – The Nancy Drew Cookbook. One of my first and most treasured cookbooks. It’s one of three cookbooks I received from my mom that I absolutely treasure. The other two are The Little House Cookbook (based on recipes from the Little House books) and Mom’s first cookbook, Wendy’s Kitchen Debut. I may give away or sell my other cookbooks, but I’ll be buried with these. There was a recipe in Nancy Drew that I really wanted to try. In Chapter 6 – Album of International Recipes – I came across a recipe called “Italian Salsa di Pomodoro”. Not knowing what the Italian meant, I read the recipe anyway and figured out it was spaghetti sauce.

It was so different from the sauce that Mom made (hers is a wonderful amalgamation of sauce and lots of vegetables; sometimes, she would make meatballs, too). This was just a simple unadorned sauce. The first time I made it, I think I burned the onions. I still finished the sauce and the family gamely ate it. I’ve since gotten better. This book was also responsible for the infamous “A Keene Soup”, or, as my family called it, Peanut Butter Soup. It was not a success. In fact, it was really gross. They’ve never let me live it down. I don’t blame them. However, the “Old Attic Stuffed Tomato” and “Flag Cake Symbol” from Chapter 5 – “Nancy Tells Her Holiday Secrets” were pretty successful. I liked the stuffing so much that I was nibbling on it while I was making the recipe. That’s when Mom had to point out to me that eating raw sausage wasn’t a good idea.

Back to the sauce: as I progressed as a cook, I set aside this little book, but I always remembered the base of this recipe – onion, tomato, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar – and decided to make my own sauce recipe that would be simple, quick, and versatile. I think this sauce is it. I’ve used it as a base for Red Clam Sauce, added Italian Sausage, added shrimp, made Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, as a pizza sauce, etc. The list is extensive. A few notes: 1. If you can’t find or don’t want to use fresh basil, you can use any other fresh herb you prefer. Just be judicious with the amount. For example, if you use too much oregano, your sauce will taste like soap. Always begin with less than you think you need. You can always add, but you can’t take out. 2. You can also use dried herbs in this recipe. Begin with 1 teaspoon and add it when you add the red pepper flakes to the onion & garlic. 3. You can add any protein to this sauce. Just add it when you add the fresh basil at the end.

If it’s something like sausage, be sure to cook it before adding to the sauce. If it’s fish or shellfish, you can add it raw, but just make sure it’s cut into small enough pieces that the heat of the sauce will cook it through. 4. This recipe makes a lot of sauce. It freezes well and can be frozen for 3-4 months. Posted on March 25, 2015 by Sahar I have to admit, sometimes, in this wanna-be low-carb world, I just want to enjoy a big bowl of pasta. It’s quick, easy, satisfying, and filling. But, of course, as always and most importantly, delicious. So, I’m going to introduce you to one of my & Husband Steve’s favorite pasta dishes. Pasta alla Puttanesca. Pasta alla Puttanesca literally translates into “Whores’ Pasta”. Its origin myths are a bit murky, but by most accounts, it’s a dish that dates back only about 50 – 60 years and was most likely created in southern Italy.

Some say the dish was invented by an Italian restaurateur who had an influx of customers near closing time one evening and threw together what he had left over – some olives, tomatoes, and peppers. Another origin story is that is was named “puttanesca” because it was easy and everything went into it. A third story is “decent” Italian housewives made this sauce with whatever they had laying around and threw it at ladies of the night while screaming “puttana!”. I’m not so sure about the third one. But, who knows? Pasta alla Puttanesca 0 Posted on August 30, 2013 by Sahar Pasta (or Spaghetti) alla Puttanesca, otherwise known as “Whore’s Spaghetti” (although you don’t have to tell the kids that), is a recipe with a slightly murky origin story. One of the more popular origin myths was that it was made up by a cook in a brothel who had very little to work with, so threw what she could find into a pot, cooked it, and served it with spaghetti. That’s the story I always heard, anyway. Well, apparently, it’s not true.

Many signs point to the dish actually originating in the mid-20th Century. The first known reference to “spagehetti alla puttanesca” in Raffaele La Capria’s Ferito a Morte (Mortal Wound), a 1961 Italian novel. in 2005, a restaurant owner named Sandro Petti claimed he invented the recipe for “Puttanesca” in the 1950’s. According to Wikipedia (and several other sources): “The moment of inspiration came, when near closing one evening, Petti found a group of customers sitting at one of his tables. Petti was low on ingredients and told them he didn’t have enough to make them a meal. They complained that it was late and they were hungry. “Facci una puttanata qualsiasi (Make any kind of garbage),” they insisted. In this usage, puttanata is an Italian noun meaning something worthless. It derives from the Italian word for whore, puttana. At the time, Petti had nothing more than four tomatoes, two olives and some capers; the basic ingredients for the sugo.

“So I used them to make the sauce for the spaghetti,” Petti told Cuomo. Later, Petti included this dish on his menu as spaghetti alla puttanesca.” Makes sense. Almost like the origin of Nachos. The sauce on its own is called “sugo alla puttanesca” and the ingredients will differ slightly from region to region. In Napoli, they don’t use anchovies. While, in Lazio, they are used along with chile peppers. However it’s made, it’s a very popular dish throughout Italy. Two Pestos 1 Posted on July 11, 2013 by Sahar While I love to cook any time of year, unfortunately, it’s a little more difficult in the throes of a central Texas summer. The thought of turning on the oven or the stove makes me want to stick my head in the freezer. So, while it may not always be possible to avoid the extra kitchen heat, it can be minimized. And one of those ways is making some pesto. Pesto originated in Genoa in the northern Italian province of Liguria. The name comes from Italian word pestare (Genoese: pesta) meaning “to crush; to pound”.

It is traditionally made with garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese), and Fiore Sardo (cheese made from sheep’s milk). The ancient Romans ate a paste called moretum, which was made by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together. Basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, likely originated in India and was first domesticated there. Basil took the firmest root in the regions of Liguria, Italy and Provence, France. The Ligurians around Genoa took the dish and adapted it, using a combination of basil, crushed garlic, grated cheese, and pine nuts with a little olive oil to form pesto. The first mention of recipe for pesto as it is known today, is from the book La Cuciniera Genovese written in 1863 by Giovanni Battista Ratto. While pesto was introduced in the US is the 1940’s, it didn’t become popular until the 1980’s. (some information from wikipedia.org and thenibble.com) The pestos I’m showing you today aren’t the traditional recipe that many have come to know and love.

While I’m very serious about traditional recipes, sometimes experimentation isn’t a bad thing. Now, on to the recipes. *********************************** A few notes: 1. Splurge and buy the freshest ingredients you can. And that includes buying imported cheeses. While America makes many wonderful cheeses, we aren’t too good with hard Italian cheeses. Since pesto is essentially a raw product, you want the best. 2. I don’t recommend using oil-packed/cured sun-dried tomatoes. They’re usually flavored and I can’t control the amount of oil in the pesto. Plus, somehow, they always taste cooked. Buy plain sun-dried and you won’t be sorry. 3. You’ll no doubt notice in the instructions that I use a food processor for these recipes. It is simply for ease in preparation. If you feel like going all traditional, go for it. But, it’d be a safe bet to say those tomatoes would be a bitch to beat down with a mortar and pestle. Also, I keep the processor running through most of the prep. This helps greatly when adding the “harder” ingredients like the garlic and nuts.

If you add them to the bowl and then turn on the processor, you won’t get a fine or consistent chop, which is what you want. 4. When I serve these pestos, I always have some extra cheese on hand, some minced parsley (for the sun-dried tomato) and some halved cherry tomatoes (for the cilantro). You don’t have to have these, but I thought I’d pass it along. 5. As we all know, pesto is good on so many other things than just pasta. Spread it on bread, use as a dip for vegetables, top grilled meats, seafood, or vegetables. 6. Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. I don’t recommend freezing. Cilantro Pesto The Ingredients Toasted pine nuts. These aren’t inexpensive, so watch them very carefully. If they begin to small like popcorn when you’re roasting, you’ve gone too far. Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Orecchiette 4 Posted on March 31, 2013 by Sahar The humble tomato. One of our favorite nightshade family fruits used as a vegetable.

It’s hard to imagine now how it was once considered at best a trash food, and, at worst, poisonous. ********** A brief history (via Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica used tomatoes in their cooking. The exact date of domestication is unknown; however, by 500 BCE, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico. The large, lumpy tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes. There is some specualtion as to whether it was Christopher Columbus or Hernán Cortés was the first European to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who suggested that a new type of “eggplant” had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden color when mature and could be eaten like an eggplant—cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. However it wasn’t until ten years later that tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as pomi d’oro, or “golden apple”.

The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. In northern areas of Italy, however, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century. The first recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to October 31, 1548 when the house steward of the de’ Medici family wrote to the Medici private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the family’s Florentine estate at Torre del Gallo “had arrived safely.” Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. The Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they “were to be sought only for their beauty” and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato’s ability to mutate and create new and different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However, even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their proximity of growing to the ground suggested low status.

They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare them. Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard’sHerbal, published in 1597, and largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy. Nonetheless, he believed it was poisonous. Gerard’s views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies. By the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end of that century, the Encyclopædia Britannica stated the tomato was “in daily use” in soups, broths, and as a garnish. The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East/Asia by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo circa 1799 to 1825.

Nineteenth century descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is described as only eaten in the region “within the last forty years”. The tomato entered Iran through two separate routes; one was through Turkey and Armenia, and the other was through the Qajar royal family’s frequent travels to France. The early name used for tomato in Iran was Armani badenjan (Armenian eggplant). Currently, the name used for tomato in Iran is gojeh farangi [French plum]. The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina, where they were introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and likely in other parts of the Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America. Alexander W.

Livingston was the first person who succeeded in upgrading the wild tomato, developing different breeds and stabilizing the plants. In the 1937 yearbook of the Federal Department of Agriculture, it was declared that “half of the major varieties were a result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato”. Livingston’s first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870. In 1875, he introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years. When Alexander W. Livingston had begun his attempts to develop the tomato as a commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size and having better flavor. After five years, the fruit became fleshier and larger. In 1870, Alexander introduced the Paragon and tomato culture began at once to be a great enterprise of the county. Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. He eventually developed over seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant.

Real Ragú Doesn’t Come from a Jar 0 Posted on June 14, 2012 by Sahar Ragú. The word has been part of the American food lexicon since 1969. (The brand was started by a cheese importer Giovanni Cantisano and his wife Assunta in 1937 in New York. They sold the brand to Chesebrough-Ponds in 1969 for $43.8M.) Most people know it as the original sauce in a jar (other than Chef Boyardee). It has, admittedly, been the lifesaver of many a harried mom trying to put a hot meal on the table, college students looking for a cheap meal, and a quick substitute for pizza sauce. However, I’m here to tell you, that isn’t real ragú. A real ragú, as any prideful Italian will tell you, is a meat sauce that originated in the Emilia-Romanga region of Italy. It’s not a brand name. There are literally thousands of written recipes now for ragú. In fact, since the original recipe was never written down, no one can say for sure that they know what the original recipe even was.

It comes in many variations that are specific to the region where the recipe is developed (a very common thing still in Italy). Recipes can be with or without tomatoes, include all different types of meats or poultry, contain offal, and be made with or without wine and/or milk. According to culinary historians, Ragù alla Bolognese follows the origin of ragús in Italian cuisine. The first known reference to ragù as a pasta sauce dates to the late 18th century, and originated in Imola, near to the city of Bologna. The first recipe for a meat sauce characterized as being Bolognese came from Pellegrino Artusi and was included in his cookbook published in 1891. Artusi’s recipe, Maccheroni alla bolognese, is believed to have originated from the middle 19th century when he spent considerable time in Bologna. Artusi’s sauce called for predominantly lean veal filet along with pancetta, butter, onion, and carrot. The meats and vegetables were to be finely minced, cooked with butter until the meats browned, then covered and cooked with broth.

Artusi added the sauce could be enhanced by adding dried mushrooms, truffle slices, or finely chopped chicken liver. He further added that when the sauce was completely done you could add as a final touch half a glass of cream to make an even more delicate dish. In the century-plus since Artusi wrote and published his recipe for Maccheroni alla Bolognese (maccheroni being a catch-all word for pasta in Artusi’s time), what is now ragù alla bolognese has evolved with the cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region. Most notable is the preferred choice of pasta, which today is widely accepted as fresh tagliatelle (a wide, flat pasta). Another reflection of the evolution of the cuisine over the past 150 years is the addition of tomato, either as a puree or as a concentrated paste, or both, to the original mix of ingredients. Similarly, both wine and milk appear today in the list of ingredients in many of the contemporary recipes, and beef has mostly replaced veal as the preferred protein. While the number of recipe and ingredient variations are significant, there are characteristic commonalities. Garlic is absent from all of the recipes.

So are herbs other than the limited use of Bay leaves in some recipes. Seasoning is limited to salt, pepper and the occasional addition of nutmeg. In all of the recipes meat is the principal ingredient, and while tomatoes are included they are only used as an enhancement to the meat. (Some historical information from and The Food Chronology, James Trager, Owl Books, 1995) *************************** Southern Italy - Dictionary definition of Southern Italy | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary Southern Italy Encyclopedia of Food and Culture COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. Southern Italy For the purpose of this entry, southern Italy is defined as Rome and all areas south of Rome (see map). Many ethnic groups, such as the Greeks, Spaniards, and Arabs, have passed through southern Italy over the millennia and influenced its cuisines. Traditionally, southern Italians have been much poorer than their northern counterparts. The poverty of the south has resulted in unique regional cuisines that bear little resemblance to the dairy-based cuisines of the north. Rome, traditionally part of middle Italy, today has a cuisine more southern than northern in temperament.

Interestingly, the ancestors of most Italian Americans are from the South; the dire poverty of southern Italy led to large-scale emigration from regions like Campania , Calabria , and Sicily to the United States . It follows logically that Italian-American cuisine is mainly derived from the cuisines of southern Italy. Pizza, pastas with tomato sauce, organ meats, and eggplant-based dishes are all common components of both southern Italian and Italian-American cuisine. Southern Italy is a historically poor region, and so the population used what they had available—inexpensive ingredients like capers and olives, hot peppers, garlic, and anchovies—to create flavorful and unique dishes. Unlike the northern pastas from regions such as Emilia-Romagna, southern pastas are made without eggs and from harder flour and are often shaped rather than rolled, resulting in a chewier pasta like orecchiette ("little ears") from Apulia (Puglia) or conchiglie (shells) from Campania. These less-rich pastas need heavier sauces. In the South there are few cows, so beef, butter, and cream are not part of the diet.

The favored cheese is mozzarella di bufala, which is made here wholly or largely from buffalo milk (that is, the milk of the water buffalo, not that of the American bison), which has a distinctive taste. There are also goats and sheep—yielding meat and cheeses—and pigs and chickens. Lamb dominates mountain cooking. In the past, young spring lamb was reserved for important occasions such as Easter or weddings and baptisms, but today it is more common and often available year-round. Near the coasts, saltwater fish such as spigola (sea bass), orata (bream), and dentice (dentex, a fish related to the porgy), as well as a variety of shellfish and cuttlefish, are available. Olive oil is produced around the Apennines and in southern Apulia, and is used all over the South. Suitable soil and temperature contribute to an abundance of vegetables and fruits, and many types of herbs are also produced. Eggplant is a major food item, as it grows better in the South than in the North and can be prepared in many different ways; melanzana, the Italian word for eggplant, derives from mela insana ("noxious apple").

Rome, Naples , and Sicily are places that non-Italians are familiar with; however, there are other regions in Southern Italy, and some of their food culture is also described here. Rome Rome is truly the Eternal City. Its rich and fascinating history includes the elaborate public and private feasts held by ancient Roman emperors. That said, modern Roman cuisine is actually quite simple and much influenced by other regions. Dishes are prepared simply with a few inexpensive ingredients. Antipasti are not elaborate, pasta sauces are quick to prepare, and there is a large variety of vegetables (especially leafy greens). Historically, Rome was the place where cattle were butchered, and so Romans are famous for their use of the quinto quarto, or fifth quarter, the organ meats and parts of the cattle that were left over after butchering.

Two famous Roman dishes, coda alla vaccinara, a stew of oxtail braised for a long time with celery, carrots, onions, tomatoes, herbs, and spices in white wine, and rigatoni alla pajata or pagliata, short, tubular pasta with beef or veal intestines in a tomato sauce, were born around the communal slaughterhouse in Testaccio. A popular meat is lamb, which is usually roasted in the oven (abbacchio al forno ) and served with potatoes. Examples of other meat dishes considered very Roman are pollo alla Romana, chicken with red and yellow peppers; saltimbocca alla Romana (literally, jump into the mouth) made of thin slices of veal, prosciutto, and sage; and trippa alla Romana, which is tripe in a tomato and mint sauce. Bucatini all'amatriciana (tubular pasta with bacon and tomato sauce) originated from country kitchens, where bacon, olive oil, and fresh tomatoes were plentiful. Fettuccine Alfredo is just pasta al burro (pasta with butter) from Alfredo's restaurant in Rome.

Some other popular pasta sauces are cacio e pepe (pecorino cheese and pepper), carbonara (bacon, eggs, and pecorino and Parmesan cheeses) and arrabbiata (hot pepper and tomatoes). Gnocchi alla Romana are dumplings made of semolina, eggs, milk, and cheese. Spaghetti alla puttanesca (literally, spaghetti whore-style) is made with olives, anchovies, and capers. There are also soups, all with some version of pasta in them, such as stracciatelle (literally, "little rags"), so named from the thin batter of egg, flour, and Parmesan that is poured into the chicken or beef broth used. Others feature herbs, such as lentil soup flavored with nepitella (wild mint) and bean soup flavored with rosemary. There are also minestra de ceci e pasta (soup with chickpeas and pasta) and zuppa di arzilla (fish soup). Romans say it takes four people to make a proper salad: a spendthrift for the oil, a miser for the vinegar, a wise man for seasoning, and a madman for mixing.

Panzanella is bread salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, basil, and dressing. A classic Roman winter salad is puntarelle, shoots of a particular variety of chicory with a bitter undertone, tossed with a dressing made with olive oil, anchovies, garlic, and lemon juice. Some salads are a mix of greens sometimes called misticanza, preferably with the addition of rughetta (also called rucola, rocola, and, as it is in English, arugula ). More recently tomatoes, shredded carrots, and even canned maize (corn) may be added to salads. Artichokes are also seasonal and popular as in carciofi alla Romana (Roman style), which are stood upright in a pan as they cook with garlic, mint, parsley, and an abundant drizzle of olive oil. Another famous preparation is made from romanesco artichokes, which are round and lack a spiny choke. These reach gastronomic heights when prepared alla giudia (Jewish style), in which the artichokes are flattened and deep-fried to look like golden sunflowers and their leaves have a delicious nutty crunchiness. This dish has contributed to the fame of the restaurants in the Roman ghetto.

Also popular in Rome are such stuffed vegetables as tomatoes stuffed with rice and mozzarella, or zucchini stuffed with chopped meat. Then there are vegetables, mainly greens, that are prepared all'agro (with a lemon-juice dressing) or in padella (stir-fried). Rome is partial to frying: fritto misto (mixed fry) can contain shrimp and calamari (squid); or artichoke and brain; or different cheeses; or a mixture of vegetables; or supplì al telefono, a croquette of rice with mozzarella cheese in the middle—when one bites into it the mozzarella flows out in long threads, as in a telephone cord. The famous fiori di zucca (zucchini flowers) are stuffed with mozzarella and anchovy and dipped in batter before frying. Cod is also batter-dipped and fried (baccalà filetti). Pecorino romano and ricotta are the most favored cheeses. Ricotta, a soft sheep's milk cheese, is prepared inside wicker baskets. Rosette (hollow, very crisp rolls) are very characteristic of Rome, as is casareccio, a chewy, peasant-style bread.

Favorite desserts in Rome are fresh fruits, especially strawberries from Nemi (a town on the outskirts of Rome), or macedonia (fruit salad). Many other popular desserts have originated elsewhere, such as tiramisu (literally, "pick me up"), made of mascarpone (a very creamy, soft cheese, typically made from cow's milk), ladyfingers, coffee, and other ingredients specific to the home or restaurant; torta de la nonna (cake with custard and pine nuts); panna cotta (boiled cream), served with a variety of toppings, such as berries, chocolate, and caramel; profiteroles (mounds of little cream puffs drizzled with chocolate); and gelato (ice cream) in flavors such as lemon, coconut, orange, and pineapple, frozen and served in a container made of the skin or shell of its source.

Examples of foods reserved for specific festive occasions in Rome are lentils with cotechino and zampone (varieties of pork sausage), served on New Year's Eve; porchetta (roast stuffed pork), traditional at the festival of Noantri in Trastevere; pan giallo, a fruit-and-nut cake served at Christmas ; bigne di Giuseppe (fried doughnuts), filled with cream or chocolate eaten for Father's Day; and maritozzi (raisin buns), traditional for Lent. Campania and Naples Naples has long guided the gastronomy of the region and its cooking has had the most influence on the way non-Italians regard Italian food. It is said that the true Neapolitan is poor, but likes to eat well and is proud of the invention of three of the tastiest food items: pizza, tomato sauce, and macaroni. Poor immigrants exported Neapolitan cuisine, rich in tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil, and black olives, to the United States and elsewhere.

As meat and seafood were out of reach for the poor at home, the transported cuisine used more meat but fewer vegetables; the classic Italian-American dish, spaghetti with meatballs, for example, is not common in Italy. Immigrants also used more garlic and oregano. But Naples was a kingdom that in the households of the nobility also had a refined cuisine that required extensive effort; a simple ragù (sauce), for example, took many hours to prepare. The master of the kitchen of the noble palaces was the monzu (a term derived from the French monsieur ), a combination of cook and artist, revered and respected by all. He was responsible for the preparation of elaborate and rich court cuisine with dishes like braciolla (stuffed beef roll), mozzarella in carozza (fried mozzarella sandwich), and timballi of pasta or rice with eggplant, cheese, and tomato. Desserts like baba (a cake made of yeast dough with syrup) and sfogliatelle (literally, "little sheets"—flaky pastry wrapped around sweet items) were lavish and unusual. Spumone, an ice-cream confection in strips of colors, is also native to Naples.

The cuisine of Campania and of Naples is rich in vegetables and pasta, often layered in casserole dishes. But the Neapolitans also prepare refined seafood dishes such as zuppa di vongole (clam soup), or spaghetti con le vongole in salsa bianca (with clams in white sauce), or cozze in culla (tomatoes stuffed with mussels and a mixture of capers, chopped parsley, oregano, and bread crumbs). A Neapolitan dish still eaten at home is minestra marinata, made with pork fat and boiled greens. The richness of the soup depends on the economic conditions of the family; this was the basic daily meal until the arrival of pasta. The people of Naples were the first to accept the tomato from the New World, at a time when other Europeans believed it to be poisonous. Arguably, Naples's biggest contribution to world cuisine is pizza. Royalty played an important role in the development of pizza: For example, pizza Margherita reflects the three colors in the Italian flag (basil for green, cheese for white, and tomato for red) and was created specifically for King Umberto I's consort, Queen Margherita.

Queen Maria Carolina, the moody and autocratic wife of King Ferdinando I of Naples, offered pizza to her entire court. In the towns of Campania, including Naples, life takes place in the streets. In the working-class districts of Naples, the streets seem to consist of one long outdoor food shop. This tradition has roots in the past when people spent most of their days outdoors. Housing was cramped and uncomfortable, but the weather was warm, very conducive to outdoor living. Even today, one can observe that people spend much time in bars or in piazzas or just sitting on chairs in front of their doors. Until 1800, all kinds of food were eaten outdoors, including macaroni, pizza, and seafood. There was the macaroni vendor, for instance, who scooped out pasta from huge cauldrons and for a few pennies more offered it with tomato sauce or with boiled polpi (octopuses) served in a cup with their steaming fragrant broth. Sicily Sicily, the Mediterranean island in the sun, close to North Africa, enjoys strong Greek and Arab influences.

Its cuisine, specifically its cooking style, has influenced the food culture of Italy and of other parts of the world. On the eastern side of the island, the cuisine is sober and mild, avoids sweet and sour tastes, and is less generous with sugar in sauces; whereas in the western part of Sicily, the influence is Saracen, with strong contrasts and flavors. It is thus not surprising that one of the specialties of Trapani, a seaport in northwestern Sicily, is cuscusu (couscous). The dish more people associate with the island than any other is caponata, a cooked eggplant delight consumed cold and made with a number of ingredients such as celery, capers, anchovies, chilies, olives, tomatoes, and vinegar. It comes in many varieties; some are purely vegetarian, whereas the Palermo version can also contain fish. Eggplant dishes are definitely favored in Sicily, as are tomatoes and pasta.

Pasta varieties are abundant and are often baked into timballi (timbales); the most famous of these is timballo di anellini, made with ring-shaped dried pasta, balsamello (béchamel sauce), ground beef, chicken, peas, and vegetables, all wrapped in lettuce leaves and baked in a mold. A local specialty is spaghetti con sarde (with sardines), often prepared with raisins and nuts as well. Sicilian pizza is usually thicker than other varieties, and has anchovies. The fish of the Adriatic Sea are different from those of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and in Sicily there are swordfish from the warm water. Sicilian cuisine has its own terminology: arancini (literally, little oranges) are fried balls of rice, meat, and grated cheese; quaglie (quails) are eggplants sliced open and fried in oil; and falsemagre (false thins) are meatballs made with salami, hard-boiled eggs, parsley, and other ingredients. Eggplant dishes are often given the appellation Norma, as in spaghetti alla Norma. The cheese-making tradition in Sicily is very important.

Cheese is a nourishing food that can be processed at the household level and is easily transported and preserved. That is the reason for the heavy reliance on cheese by poor people. Some of the favorites are pecorino Siciliano, a cheese with a hard consistency that is made from the ewe's milk and is aged and salted; Ragusano, a pear-shaped cheese made from cow's milk, which received its name from the practice of suspending the cheese from a beam with a cord; caciocavallo Palermitano, similar to Ragusano but having a pungent odor and a piquant flavor due to the type of grass eaten by the cows; tuma, pecorino before it has been salted; and primosale, salted only once (provola is a smoked version). Ricotta is made from fresh ewe's milk and is extensively used in Sicilian cooking. Salted and baked ricotta cheeses have been developed in response to the need to preserve them. Canestrato owes its name to the pattern created by the wicker baskets in which it is pressed.

It is made from ewe's or cow's milk and probably originated from attempts to make pecorino, for which it can be substituted in cooking. Sicily exceeds all the other regions of Italy in its abundance of sweets, fruits, and ice creams. Candied fruits, sweets made with almond paste, and ice cream are available everywhere. Cassata (brick-shaped sponge cake filled with ricotta, candied fruit, and marzipan) may be the most famous of Sicilian desserts. Many of the recipes for Sicilian sweets come from monasteries, and until the turn of the twentieth century their entire production went to the clergy and to Sicily's aristocrats. Some recipes remain a mystery: the nuns of Santo Spirito, for example, refuse to reveal their secrets for making the sweet dessert they sell at their convent in Agrigento, or at the orphanage in Erice. Fortunately, these traditional sweets live on during the religious festivals such as Easter, when desserts made from almond paste in the form of fruits, sheep, and patron saints are sold.

Apulia Apulia is a region in southeasternmost Italy producing wheat and a variety of vegetables—tomatoes, artichokes, lettuce, fennel, peppers, and onions—citrus fruits, olives, almonds, figs (some dried with almond flavoring), and grapes. Add to this a sea full of fish, as well as fields for grazing, and the result is a variety of ingredients that can easily be combined into a sumptuous cuisine. Homemade pasta is found in unusual shapes like the orecchiette traditionally paired with broccoli rabe, or cavatelli (literally, little plugs). For Sunday dinner a favorite is maccheroni al forno (baked macaroni), a pie filled with little meatballs, sliced hard-boiled eggs, pieces of artichoke, salami, and cheese. Ciceri e tria is composed of fried pasta strips with chickpeas. Since the sea surrounds three-quarters of the area of Apulia, seafood products are abundant and popular. Sea turtle, oysters, mussels, cuttlefish, and octopus are cooked in simple ways, sometimes even eaten raw in the markets. The dominant meat is lamb, roasted, stewed, or even fried.

Gniumerieddi are lamb innards cooked with pecorino cheese. Beef is used for either meat sauce or small meatballs, possibly because in poorer times the only cattle to be slaughtered were old and produced tough steaks. Due to the popularity of lamb and the enormous flocks, cheese made from sheep's milk is very popular, including fresh ricotta and pecorino. A typical snack of this region is the calzone (literally, big sock), pizza dough spread with onions, black olives, capers, tomatoes, pecorino cheese, anchovies, and parsley; closed and pinched around the edges; and baked in the oven. Homegrown yellow and white melons, sweet watermelons and grapes, and cotognata, a quince concentrate, are considered appropriate choices for ending a meal. Abruzzi e Molise Most of the great cooks of Italy come from the region of Abruzzi, where the fame of the local cooks, who were often highly sought-after by nobles living in other parts of the kingdom, began in the sixteenth century.

This geographical area is known for strong flavors: peperoncino (hot red pepper) is used to flavor many dishes, and a favorite sauce for pasta is aglio, olio e peperoncino (garlic, olive oil, and hot red pepper), which can be heavy going for those not accustomed to spicy food. Alla chitarra (guitar-style) is a well-known pasta named after the utensil used for cutting it. Ideally, the cuisine of Abruzzi is divided between that of the sea and that of the mountains. The first has the classic brodetto (fish stew of many different fish) as a principal dish. Other dishes include fried fish and fish in sauces served with pasta, as well as freshwater fish, such as mountain trout and river shrimp. Lamb is the popular meat: agnello all'arrabbiata (literally, angry lamb) is a favored spicy entrée. Pizza sette occhi is a dessert in which the pastry strips resemble seven eyes. Among the unique dishes of Molise is p'lenta d'iragn, a white polenta made with potatoes and wheat, and served with tomato sauce.

Scamorza (a cheese similar to mozzarella) is a popular item from the region and is usually served grilled. Basilicata and Calabria Basilicata is known for spicy cuisine: as its inhabitants were poor, they made their fare more interesting with the use of spices, such as ginger. Sausages in some parts of northern Italy are still called by an old name for Basilicata (lucania or licanica or luganega ), and so are some pasta dishes, such as cavatelli alla lucana with mushroom and sausage, or cavateglie e patate, pasta and potatoes with a ragù of rabbit and pork. Pasta dishes are often named after towns, such as orecchiette alla Materana (a town in Basilicata), which has a sauce made of vegetables and arugula. Other pasta dishes are frequently served all'arrabbiata.

In Calabria, pizza is called pitta (flat) and is served without tomatoes; ciambotta (big mixture) is a vegetable stew of eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions; morseddu (little morsel) is a traditional breakfast dish of pork-tripe stew with liver and herbs served in a pitta; licurdia is onion-and-potato soup; and millecosedde (thousand things) is a soup of dried beans and vegetables with pasta. See also Pasta; Pizza.

Question: The hot and spicy dish Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca is named after what group of workers in Naples?
Answer: PROSTITUTES